1872 English cricket season
In the 1872 cricket season, the first experiment in pitch covering was carried out. Prince's Cricket Ground opened in Chelsea, London.
Playing record (by county)
[edit]| County | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derbyshire | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Gloucestershire | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Kent | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Lancashire | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Middlesex | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Nottinghamshire[a] | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Surrey | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 |
| Sussex | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Yorkshire[a] | 9 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
Leading batsmen (qualification 15 innings)
[edit]| 1872 English season leading batsmen[2] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Team | Matches | Innings | Not outs | Runs | Highest score | Average | 100s | 50s |
| WG Grace | Gloucestershire MCC |
20 | 32 | 7 | 1485 | 170 not out | 57.11 | 6 | 6 |
| Richard Daft | Nottinghamshire | 13 | 20 | 3 | 589 | 102 | 34.64 | 1 | 4 |
| William Yardley | Cambridge University MCC |
11 | 19 | 3 | 529 | 130 | 33.06 | 1 | 2 |
| Henry Charlwood | Sussex | 16 | 27 | 4 | 651 | 80 | 28.30 | 0 | 5 |
| Frederick Fryer | Cambridge University | 9 | 15 | 0 | 405 | 91 | 27.00 | 0 | 3 |
Leading bowlers (qualification 800 balls)
[edit]| 1872 English season leading bowlers[3] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Team | Balls bowled | Runs conceded | Wickets taken | Average | Best bowling | 5 wickets in innings |
10 wickets in match |
| William McIntyre | Lancashire | 857 | 232 | 41 | 5.65 | 7/23 | 7 | 3 |
| George Wootton | MCC | 1239 | 359 | 37 | 9.70 | 7/14 | 5 | 2 |
| David Buchanan | Gentlemen | 1210 | 374 | 35 | 10.68 | 7/78 | 4 | 1 |
| Arthur Ridley | Oxford University | 844 | 332 | 31 | 10.70 | 6/23 | 3 | 0 |
| George Howitt | MCC Middlesex |
1238 | 427 | 38 | 11.23 | 6/36 | 4 | 0 |
Events
[edit]- An experiment took place at Lord's to study the effects of covering the pitch before the start of a match, the first time this is known to have been tried.[4] Unlike the recently introduced heavy roller which became universally used by 1880 and produced significant changes in the game by eliminating previously ubiquitous shooters, covering was for a long time severely rejected in England:[5] it was the wet summer of 1924[6] before covering as regular practice was even considered and 1959 before it was considered "acceptable".
- 14 May: MCC lose seven wickets before their first run is scored on a sticky wicket at Lord's against James Southerton and William Marten of Surrey.[7] Their ninth wicket falls at 8 - which would have been the lowest score in an important match for sixty-two years - but the last wicket doubles the score
- Prince's Cricket Ground hosted its first first-class match being between North and South on 16 May. Before being built on, it was generally praised for its wickets[8] and the scenery surrounding the ground.
Notes
[edit]a Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire played a third match at the short-lived Prince's Cricket Ground, Chelsea
b Hampshire, though regarded until 1885 as first-class, played no inter-county matches between 1868 and 1869 or 1871 and 1874
References
[edit]- ^ Wynne-Thomas, Peter; The Rigby A-Z of Cricket Records; p. 53 ISBN 072701868X
- ^ First Class Batting in England in 1872
- ^ First Class Bowling in England in 1872
- ^ Rowland Bowen, Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970 p. 284.
- ^ Rosenwater, Irving; "A History of Wicket-Covering in England"; in Preston, Norman (editor); Wisden Cricketers' Almanac; One Hundred and Seventh Edition (1970); pp. 131–146
- ^ Pardon, Sydney H. (editor); John Wisden's Cricketers' Almanack, Sixty-Second Edition (1925); Part I; p. 333
- ^ Marylebone Cricket Club v Surrey in 1872
- ^ Rae, Simon; W. G. Grace: A Life; p. 106 ISBN 0571195733
Bibliography
[edit]- John Lillywhite’s Cricketer's Companion (Green Lilly), Lillywhite, 1873
- James Lillywhite’s Cricketers' Annual (Red Lilly), Lillywhite, 1873
- John Wisden's Cricketers' Almanack, 1873